The Best Water Quality, Products and Filtration Systems

January05

ALKALIZED, REMINERALIZED, HYDROLYZED, nutrient-enriched, carbon-removed filtration with reverse osmosis purification of organic spring waters from the depths of the Himalayan glaciers blessed by a sacred Guru of the mountains and personally bottled in trichloromethane-free plastics — is all the rage!

Don’t let fancy words confuse you.

Water makes up 60% of the adult human body and is critical for all major physiological systems [23]:

The brain and heart are composed of 73% water; the lungs are 83%; skin is 64%; muscles and kidneys are 79%; and even bones are 31% water [23]. Unfortunately, most people are chronically dehydrated and often confuse thirst for hunger.

Drinking 6-8 glasses (2-2.5 liters) of water a day is a foundation to your health. Yes, coffee, tea, flavored water, and foods still count towards your hydration, however clean and pure water will always dominate.

Expert tip: Use elastic bands on your glass or water bottle to help you keep track. Put 6-8 bands on your bottle first thing in the morning. As you drink 1 glass of water (approx. 1 cup) take a rubber band off the bottle and put it onto your wrist. After consuming all 6-8 glasses, add the bands back to the bottle for the next day.

Photo credit: pixabay.com

Unfiltered tap water, filtered tap water, and processed bottled water- purified, artificially mineralized, and natural- are now the five most widely consumed types of drinking water [24].

Not only are the levels of toxins, pathogenic microbes and heavy metals in some of these forms of drinking water potentially dangerous to our health but also the lack of nutrients from certain filtration systems may be alarming.

Eliminating harmful effects on our health over a lifetime and for future generations is the ultimate goal of improving drinking water. This article will cover the following topics:

What’s in your drinking water?

A closer look at Canadian bottled water products

How to test your water

What to be aware of

Best water treatment systems

Best water purification products

Bringing flavor and fun into your water

Kick start your morning with lemon water

What’s in your drinking water?

A study in China tested the 5 most common forms of drinking water, and these were their results [24]:

Tap Water

1. Traditional non-filtered tapwater is the world’s most popular form of drinking water. One of the most common tap water treatments to ensure bacteriological quality is the addition of chlorine.

Drinking water contains important minerals such as calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) and is suggested that these elements are more bioavailable in water (from 40% to 60%) than the Ca and Mg obtained through diet. Epidemiologic studies have found low Ca and Mg intake from drinking water significantly increase the risk of delivering a very low birth weight baby.

Tap water also supplies 10% of the average individual’s zinc intake. Zinc is a major element that supports healthy immune function, mood stabilization, eye and skin health and balancing copper levels in the body.

However, tap water remains susceptible to biological or chemical contamination; if the water contains organic matter, this may produce disinfection by-products (DBPs), especially trichloromethane (THMs). Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is another DBP that is often detected in tap water [2].

In addition, heavy metals such as lead (Pb) and copper (Cu) can be leached from pipes, so if you live in an old building ensure you check the quality of your tap water, even if it is filtered.

Arsenic (Ar) poisoning from ground water is rare, but still occurs in areas such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Vietnam and in some well water in North America [24, 11]. Although acute poisoning and chronic accumulation can be extremely detrimental to your health, Safe Water Restoration Programs demonstrate sufficient protection from arsenic exposure in tap water, as seen in a Florida study [11].

Accumulation of pesticide residues from crop runoffs also play a detrimental role to drinking water. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were identified from potable water samples in Delhi, India [1].

2. Water filtration systems via a terminal water processor remove chlorine, other impurities and also significantly improves the taste and odor of public tap water.

Bottled water consumption has been steadily growing despite the health concerns for using soft plastics. In 2011, the consumption was approximately 32,500 million liters in the United State and 262 billion total liters around the world (90 countries).

3. Bottled purified water includes distilled water, demineralized water, deionized water and reverse osmosis water. It is typically tap water treated by a series of filtration processes to remove nearly all minerals and electrolytes, disinfected by ozone or chlorine and finally packaged in a bottle (see chart below for water treatment process).

With so many nutrients removed, purified water (H2O) tastes bad and is shown to not quench thirst. In order to improve the taste, small quantities of mineral salts such as potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate are added to the purified water, resulting in mineralized water.

4. Mineralized water has such low quantities of mineral salts added that it is often barely detectable. Testing showed very low mineral levels (or even none) detected in the bottled purified water and bottled mineralized water. This suggested that the marketed “mineralized water” may not actually be mineralized water.

5. Bottled natural water comes from high-quality underground or surface water sources. This water is also treated by serial filtration, usually disinfected by ozone and then packaged in bottles.

The total dissolved solids (TDS) and total hardness (TH), were lower in bottled natural water, which shows that the majority of minerals where removed during the filtration treatments.

Trichloromethane and perchloromethane were the most common disinfection by-products (DBPs) detected in all three bottled waters, all with similar levels. This indicates that the plastic bottle and cap may be the major source of organic pollutants, which were always disinfected by chlorine.

The following explains the water treatment processes (in China) for the 5 common sources of drinking water:

Overall, among the five drinking waters, filtered tap water had the lowest levels of pollutants and had the highest hardness, which means it was the richest in minerals. It should be noted that the organic pollutants were detected in all five waters.

Photo credit: pixabay.com

A closer look at Canadian bottled water

A Canadian study from 2011, sampled and analyzed a total of 124 bottled water products (BWPs), representing 37 brands [4]. One sample of each brand and type of plain BWP (purified, remineralized, spring, mineral, and artesian), flavoured BWP, and nutrient-enriched BWP sold in major stores in Ottawa, Ontario were reviewed and here are the results (get the full report HERE):

Purified and remineralized water contained very low levels of magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium

Spring and mineral water contained higher amounts of magnesium and calcium than did purified, remineralized, artesian, flavoured, or nutrient-enriched water

How to test you water

It’s important to know the current quality of your tap water in order to decide if you need a filtration system and what kind. There are so many models, systems and products out there.

Home water quality test kits are available to evaluate general mineral content. However, if you suspect toxic heavy metals or contaminates, for example, getting a professional to analyze your water quality is recommended.

Unfortunately, home test kits are not always accurate and they miss some harmful contaminants.

The consumer confidence report (CCR) will tell you about your water quality in your municipality, but not necessarily about what’s coming out of your particular tap. The CCR will be printed in your newspaper, posted on your local government website, or you can contact the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water (800-426-4791) for the state-certified testing labs or your local health authority, which might offer low-cost or free test kits.

Professional testing can also be done by asking your water treatment company to send a sample of your water to their lab. This is really only necessary if your water source is well water. In general, testing isn’t required for public water since the water treatment systems are frequently tested.

What to be aware of

Lead – leaching of lead into your water from lead pipes in older buildings is toxic to the body, resulting in acute stomach pains and long-term physical and mental delays in children, and kidney issues and high blood pressure in adults [22].

Arsenic – In addition to acute poisoning, arsenic causes chronic health effects, including skin diseases and effects on the cardiovascular, pulmonary, nervous, endocrine, and reproductive systems, as well as cancers (skin, lung, and bladder cancer, among others) [9].

Copper – copper pipes can leach copper into drinking water, which depletes zinc levels in the body and can lead to liver or kidney damage [22].

Pesticides – organophosphate (OP), carbamate, organochlorine, pyrethroid and herbicide compounds have the potential to affect the physical growth, neurobehavioural development and respiratory function of children [7].

Filtration (NSF/ANSI 42 and 53)— Contaminants are trapped in the pores, adsorbed or broken down by the filter media system. Carbon filters use this technology to remove some chlorine and hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs odor) but are not effective at removing VOCs, metals, pesticides or fluoride.

Water softeners (NSF/ANSI 44) — Cation exchange resins regenerated with sodium chloride or potassium chloride is used to reduce hardness (e.g. excess calcium and magnesium) from the water. These minerals are replaced with sodium or potassium ions, depending upon the type of softening pellet used.

Reverse osmosis (RO) systems (NSF/ANSI 58) — RO systems reverse the natural flow of water so that water passes from a high to low concentrated solution through a semi-permeable membrane. Most pair with granulated activated charcoal to remove contaminants but not volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or pesticides (unless a carbon block filter is included). A large amount of water is wasted through the RO system, including some minerals like Ca and Mg.

Gravity-fed drip (NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 61) – Combine ceramic and carbon block to remove contaminants, VOCs and pesticides. This process of filtration is slower than other methods but does not require electricity.

Distillers (NSF/ANSI 62) — These systems heat water to the boiling point and collect the steam as it condenses, leaving many of the contaminants behind, particularly the heavy metals. Some contaminants that convert readily into gases, such as VOCs, can carry over with the water vapor. This filtration is also slow and requires electricity.

Whole house/point-of-entry (POE) systems typically treat all or most of the water entering a residence. They are usually installed after the water meter (municipal) or pressurized storage tank (well water). A water softener is an example of a POE system.

Point-of-use (POU) systems typically treat water at the point of consumption, such as at the kitchen sink, refrigerator or shower head. Some may install inline while others will dispense filtered water through a separate faucet.

The best water purification products

Again, the quality of your current tap water (and budget) will guide your choice in the most appropriate water purification product for your home or office. Note that the differences may be substantial in the removal of contaminants but minimal in added nutrients.

eSpring: Ultraviolet-light within a carbon block system to reduces more than 140 potential health-effect contaminants

Costs a huge $1060

ProPur: combination of ceramic and carbon block in a gravity-fed drip water filtration system.

Price ranges from $129 to $299 and periodic scrubbing the carbon block can extend the usage of each filter

Big Berkey: Gravity-fed drip water system that system removes pathogens, extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents, radon 222 and trihalomethanes, and reduces nitrates, nitrites and heavy metals such as lead and mercury.

Costs about $258

Santevia: Mineralized alkaline gravity-fed 8-stage system of natural filters, including filtration to 0.3 of a micron

Mineral Chill – to get a mineral boost into your water, mix your favorite mineral powder with a little water and pour it into an ice cube tray. Let the ice set and then add it to your water to cool down and nourish up.

Photo credit: pixabay.com

Lemon water – is my most favorite (and easiest) way to make water delicious with added nutrition. See more below:

Photo credit: pixabay.com

Save the caffeine for later… Kick start your morning with lemon water

Lemon water is an ideal way to start your morning with energy, hydration, and endurance. Simply squeeze the juice of an 1/8- 1/4 wedge of lemon into a glass of room temperature or slightly cool water. Here are some of the extensive benefits of starting your day off with lemon water:

This website is NOT to be used as a diagnostic or treatment tool. Always consult with your Conventional Medical Doctor or Naturopathic Doctor for specific concerns. In cases of medical emergencies visit your nearest hospital or call 9-1-1.